ISLAMABAD – The Somali refugees on Monday staged a protest demonstration against the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the affiliated NGOs accusing them of violating their fundamental human rights in Pakistan.
A large number of refuges, including women and children, gathered in front of the Diplomatic Enclave in the federal capital and participated in the demonstration which lasted for four hours.
They said the UNHCR and the NGOs were not providing assistance that was obligatory, adding that the UN agency for refugees was not granting financial aid to many of them.The Somali refugees appealed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other international figures to take serious notice of their plight and direct the UNHCR to either provide assistance to them according to the international laws or help them getting political asylum in any other country.
Abdul Rehman Haji, the organiser of the protest, said the UNHCR chose not to uphold the rights of these refugees and comply with its own mandate. “Refugees from many countries are living in Pakistan who are being properly assisted by the UNHCR but Somali community is neglected because we are ‘black’,” he said.
